“But with many companies assuming a foreign-exchange rate of 105 yen per dollar, investors will remain cautious about pushing equities too much higher,” he said.

The greenback got a boost during Asian trading as US congressional leaders reached a deal on a federal spending bill which — if passed by lawmakers this week — will avert a government shutdown.

Congress is expected to vote on the measure, which would keep the government open through September 30.
“It’s good a tentative deal was reached without too much trouble,” Naoki Fujiwara, chief fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management, told Bloomberg News.

But soft economic data from the US and China weighed on overall sentiment, he added, saying: “US data on jobs and the GDP are reason for caution, spurring concern we may be losing the recent solid recovery.”
Some investors also looked warily at continued North Korea-related tensions and Washington’s increasingly tough rhetoric against Pyongyang as a cause for concern.

Japanese markets will be closed for three days starting Wednesday for a string of holidays during which major economic data and global events are expected, including a US Federal Reserve policy meeting and US jobs data.

Tokyo markets will be among the first major ones to open after the second round of the French presidential election on May 7.